Surface passivation for narrowing optical linewidth of silicon T centers in nanophotonic devices
Abstract
Silicon T centers are promising spin-photon interfaces in solid-state platforms for telecom-compatible, scalable quantum information technologies. A major challenge for T centers in nanophotonics is spectral diffusion, where fluctuations in the local electric-field environment from surface and bulk charge states broaden the optical transition and reduce photon indistinguishability. Strategies that directly suppress spectral diffusion are therefore critical for improving T-center-based quantum photonic devices. Here, we use atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 to passivate the silicon surface and demonstrate a systematic narrowing of T center optical linewidths. Across our measurements, Al2O3 passivation reduces the T center emission linewidth by up to 57%. Complementary above-bandgap illumination and spectral hole burning measurements show that the remaining linewidth contains a significant spectral-diffusion component caused by adjacent charge traps, while placing an upper bound of approximately 75 MHz on the homogeneous linewidth. This work provides a CMOS-compatible path toward generating indistinguishable photons from silicon T centers for scalable quantum photonic applications.
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BibTeX
@misc{islam2026surface,
title = {{Surface passivation for narrowing optical linewidth of silicon T centers in nanophotonic devices}},
author = {Fariba Islam and Chang-Min Lee and Kyu-Young Kim and Sorah Fischer and Purbita Purkayastha and Amirehsan Alizadehherfati and Edo Waks},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.09904},
eprint = {2608.09904},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.09904},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Surface passivation for narrowing optical linewidth of silicon T centers in nanophotonic devices
AU - Fariba Islam
AU - Chang-Min Lee
AU - Kyu-Young Kim
AU - Sorah Fischer
AU - Purbita Purkayastha
AU - Amirehsan Alizadehherfati
AU - Edo Waks
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/31
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.09904
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.09904
AB - Silicon T centers are promising spin-photon interfaces in solid-state platforms for telecom-compatible, scalable quantum information technologies. A major challenge for T centers in nanophotonics is spectral diffusion, where fluctuations in the local electric-field environment from surface and bulk charge states broaden the optical transition and reduce photon indistinguishability. Strategies that directly suppress spectral diffusion are therefore critical for improving T-center-based quantum photonic devices. Here, we use atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 to passivate the silicon surface and demonstrate a systematic narrowing of T center optical linewidths. Across our measurements, Al2O3 passivation reduces the T center emission linewidth by up to 57%. Complementary above-bandgap illumination and spectral hole burning measurements show that the remaining linewidth contains a significant spectral-diffusion component caused by adjacent charge traps, while placing an upper bound of approximately 75 MHz on the homogeneous linewidth. This work provides a CMOS-compatible path toward generating indistinguishable photons from silicon T centers for scalable quantum photonic applications.
ER -